Frost Profiles

Hornsby Creative American Music

Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, Associate Professor, Program Director, Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program

Rey Sanchez is associate dean for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, where he is an associate professor of music and also serves as the program director for the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program. He is the immediate past chair of the Department of Music Media & Industry at Frost. Rey Sanchez holds degrees in Composition and Studio Writing/Production from the University of Miami. Sanchez is a professional guitarist with an extensive list of credits and was the long-time musical director for Latin superstar Chayanne. He is a voting member of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Rey Sanchez is actively involved in songwriting and record production, working with EMI Music Publishing, Sony BMG, Universal and others. He also authors educational guitar books for FJH Music Publishing.

Carlos Rafael Rivera is a lecturer in the Department of Music Theory and Composition and the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. Rivera is a composer that incorporates a large diversity of musical influences in his work, which reflect his multi-cultural upbringing in Washington, DC, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Miami, and Los Angeles. His music has been performed by such prominent ensembles as Chanticleer, the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), the New England Philharmonic, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet; recorded by Warner, Sony and Naxos labels; published by C.F. Peters, Mel-Bay, and Doberman Editions; and awarded by the ACO, the Herb Alpert Foundation, the Guitar Foundation of America, BMI and ASCAP. He is a sought out resident composer and guest lecturer, covering topics ranging from his own music, to the work of Gershwin, Rodrigo, and Radiohead. A DMA graduate in music composition at USC's Thornton School of Music, he studied with Donald Crockett, Stephen Hartke, Orlando Garcia, and mentored with Randy Newman. Equally comfortable in the popular music world, his guitar work includes performances on feature soundtracks (Crash, Dragonfly); studio sessions for Island/Def Jam, and Universal Records; as well as ABC's Scrubs, MTV, and VH-1. He has performed as opening act for The Who at the Hollywood Bowl, and with jazz trumpet icon Arturo Sandoval. Carlos Rivera is a voting member of the Recording Academy (Grammy awards) and was recently invited into the Miami Symphony Orchestra's Strategic Alliances program for their 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

Brian E. Russell is a lecturer in the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. Dr. Russell is a dedicated music educator who has served South Florida for fifteen years. His experience includes teaching instrumental music at the elementary, middle school, senior high school, and college levels. In addition to serving as a lecturer for the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, Dr. Russell also teaches jazz and contemporary guitar at both Barry University and Miami-Dade College.
Russell received his Ph.D. in music education from the University of Miami with a cognate in jazz studies. His research focuses on music assessment and guitar methodology and has been published in the refereed journal: Bulletin for the Council of Research in Music Education. He has presented research at professional conferences in Germany, Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, and Ohio, and has collaborated in research that has been presented in Sweden and China. As a professional guitar player and dedicated musician, Brian performs regularly in the Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach areas in various live and studio music venues.

Joe Abbati is a lecturer in the Department of Music Engineering Technology at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where he also teaches in the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music program. He is an artist/engineer with extensive experience in audio production, media technologies and interactivity. An alumnus of the Music Engineering program, Joe worked full-time as audio programmer, sound designer and composer before returning to join the faculty. Abbati has particular expertise in the development of video games. He is an expert in sound design, multimedia audio, entertainment software, MIDI sequencing and synthesis. Since leaving the full-time software industry, he has continued consulting on dozens of published game titles for the likes of THQ, Mattel, Activision and GameMill. Recently acquiring an MFA in Sculpture, Joe is currently creating interactive installations that explore the relationship between object, motion, light and sound.